First teased a year and a half ago, Samsung's concept for a smartphone with a slanted screen edge that can be more easily viewed from side angles is set to become a reality later this year, in the form of the company's new Galaxy Note Edge smartphone.

The selling point of the newly announced Galaxy Note Edge is its 5.6-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display at a resolution of 2560 by 1440. But it also offers an extra 160 pixels on the one curved edge, and is set to launch later this year in both black and white models.

The edge screen user experience offers revolving interaction, "immersive apps" including camera video and S Note, a ticker board, "express me," quick tools, and a night clock, Samsung said. The handset was announced on Tuesday as part of the company's Unpacked 2014 Episode 2 event at the IFA 2014 trade show in Berlin.

"The Galaxy Note Edge's unique curved Edge screen provides quick access to frequently used apps, alerts and device functionality - even when the cover is closed - all with the swipe of a thumb," the company said in a press release. "Users can also receive notifications directly on the Edge Screen while watching videos without disturbing their viewing."

Samsung's latest design will run Android 4.4 KitKat, and will be powered by a 2.7-gigahertz quad-core processor. The system also boasts 3 gigabytes of RAM, with storage options of 32 or 64 gigabytes, and a microSD slot that offers expansion up to 64 gigabytes.

The Note Edge's rear facing camera is a 16-megapixel shooter with smart optical image stabilization, while the forward-facing lens is 3.7 megapixels.

In terms of connectivity, the Note Edge will support up to LTE Cat 6 for 300Mbps download speeds, and it also includes next-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, infrared LED remote control, and near-field communications.

Samsung first teased its flexible OLED display technology in January of 2013. At that time, the device was known as the "Youm," and it was showcased running Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system.

Much has clearly changed in the last year and a half, however, as the Note Edge runs Google's Android platform, just like most of Samsung's other mobile devices. Of course, it will be Samsung's modified version of Android, featuring additions such as multi-window model, S Health 3.5, and a unique "ultra power saving mode."

Youm is a flexible OLED technology that uses plastic, rather than glass, as a substrate for the display's transistors. Some observers believe such displays could be an emerging trend in the electronics industry, particularly with upcoming wearable devices.

In particular, it's been rumored that Apple might adopt a flexible OLED display for its anticipated "iWatch," which the company is expected to showcase at its own media event next Tuesday. A flexible OLED display could allow Apple to include a curved screen on its wearable device, which could allow it to more comfortably fit around a wearer's wrist.

Visually it gets a second look .. but functionally.. I have to wonder at the use cases.. 1st) Left hand use? 2) loss of durability of the screen? 3) Are you basically loosing that part of the screen to slide widgets? Last) What will be visibility in dark and outdoor direct sun situations..

Samsung phones are not the best in direct sunlight to begin with..

Guess we'll see when people get their hands on it.. I usually take any 'releases' like this as attempts to mute Apple iPhone releases though..

Visually it gets a second look .. but functionally.. I have to wonder at the use cases.. 1st) Left hand use? 2) loss of durability of the screen? 3) Are you basically loosing that part of the screen to slide widgets? Last) What will be visibility in dark and outdoor direct sun situations..

Samsung phones are not the best in direct sunlight to begin with..

Guess we'll see when people get their hands on it.. I usually take any 'releases' like this as attempts to mute Apple iPhone releases though..

No, no - left handed holding. Right handed use. And it's "extra" screen, not a loss of screen! Get it right!!

And ultra super duper power saving mode - because having that other part on all the time will kill the battery.

Can’t wait for all the accidental touches. I like how it’s designed to only be used in the left hand. That’s one way to ensure you don’t sell many.

My guess is the design is to mirror how westerners read, from left to right, which means books open from the right. You put a nice leather fold on this, put it on your desk or conference table closed and you can still check the time and other data with a quick glance without have to open it up. At least, that's how I'm envisioning their use case.

edit: Can that edge be illuminated without the rest of the display being lit up? IOW, is it dual LED backlights or AMOLED?Edited by SolipsismX - 9/3/14 at 8:53am

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Visually it gets a second look .. but functionally.. I have to wonder at the use cases.. 1st) Left hand use? 2) loss of durability of the screen? 3) Are you basically loosing that part of the screen to slide widgets? Last) What will be visibility in dark and outdoor direct sun situations..

Samsung phones are not the best in direct sunlight to begin with..

Guess we'll see when people get their hands on it.. I usually take any 'releases' like this as attempts to mute Apple iPhone releases though..

I wonder about the function issue as well. I think it looks rather dumb really with it only on one side. Looks like someone put the screen on wrong. The limiting use of the phone to only holding it in one hand seems like a bad move. As does having touch buttons, rather than physical ones. too any bad presses it seems to me would occur.

And yes I agree with the implied notion that this might not be cool enough to counter issues if the general screen isn't improved.

In honesty, regardless or whether it's practical or will work, I appreciate the fact that it's the first seemingly 'original' looking Samsung phone design. Even though I do not quite understand the reason why the edge screen is only one side, in a weird way, I do find it appealing. (For starters, it does not make me go 'ugh.')

this looks designed for the sake of design. not for functionality. I like the image of the side view where I can't really make anything out (even if it is just a rendering). not really sure that it is an added selling point. It will be interesting to see the reviews on this when it hits the market.

My guess is the design is to mirror how westerners read, from left to right, which means books open from the right. You put a nice leather fold on this, put it on your desk or conference table closed and you can still check the time and other with a glance. At least, that's how I'm envisioning their use case.

You know that nearly all easterners read from left to right, too, right? There are minor variations with calligraphy.

OT: Apple stock down almost 4% this morning because an analyst came out and said sell the stock and if next week isn't a blowout they will be downgrading the stock. I find the timing of all this stuff very curious. Especially this sell note coming the same day Samsung releases new phones. All over Twitter I'm seeing people attribute the drop to Samsung's announcement.

this looks designed for the sake of design. not for functionality. I like the image of the side view where I can't really make anything out (even if it is just a rendering). not really sure that it is an added selling point. It will be interesting to see the reviews on this when it hits the market.

Doesn't seem like this would work very well on a device as thin as an iPhone because it is too thin. There wouldn't be much to see. I don't know how thick a galaxy note is, but from the picture of the person holding it, the side is barely thick enough to see anything. Of course, this creates a huge conflict in design because the UI people will want a thicker screen and the hardware designers will want a thinner design. Personally I think the edge is a bad place to expand the UI.

Did Samdung supply the photo with the person holding the device? The computer and accessories on the desk look like shit. The white shirt the person is wearing looks like something you would see on a homeless person going to church. The ball point pen is of the type that collect in your drawer because nobody will use it.

OT: Apple stock down almost 4% this morning because an analyst came out and said sell the stock and if next week isn't a blowout they will be downgrading the stock. I find the timing of all this stuff very curious. Especially this sell note coming the same day Samsung releases new phones. All over Twitter I'm seeing people attribute the drop to Samsung's announcement.

Side viewing better on the side you're looking from, but what about the side that curves away from you? Another curve gimmick from the company that gave us the concave TV screen. Maybe the words gimmick and innovation are the same in Korean?

In honesty, regardless or whether it's practical or will work, I appreciate the fact that it's the first seemingly 'original' looking Samsung phone design. Even though I do not quite understand the reason why the edge screen is only one side, in a weird way, I do find it appealing. (For starters, it does not make me go 'ugh.')

The side screen is original. However, did you not notice the chamfered edge?

Very suspect. And no way the Note 4 would cause a 4% drop in the stock.

Well, I think it's MULTITUDE of factors all contributing here:

1. Lingering perception problem with iCloud.

2. stock downgrade

3. samsung announcement

4. However, I think the biggest reason is people taking profits early. Normally, stock drops on the day of the iPhone announcement. People are anticipating this and taking profit now. Consequently, this means the stock will NOT actually drop on 9/9. In fact, it will go up if there are surprises.

In honesty, regardless or whether it's practical or will work, I appreciate the fact that it's the first seemingly 'original' looking Samsung phone design. Even though I do not quite understand the reason why the edge screen is only one side, in a weird way, I do find it appealing. (For starters, it does not make me go 'ugh.')

Yeah this pretty much. At least now people can tell that it's a Samsung device and not an iPhone device at 5 feet away.

That said, it doesn't seem terribly practical unless that curved part can be lit independently as a type of "status bar" screen. If it can't, then it's just a wasted effort.

Samsung tends to never really WOW many people, sure it could be first with a 4 core, 4GB, or 4GB of RAM or 512GB NAND, but Apple right-sizes things for their markets.

If I could build a phone from scratch the only thing I'd improve on the iPhone is adding a Micro-SD slot to directly store video/photos. Ever since it got at least a 5Mpixel sensor and LTE, the only thing remaining on my checklist was NFC payment option. I don't need a MicroSD slot if there's enough storage, but the reason I want the slot is so that I can make the Apple device the only device needed on a trip. I was able to last a month entirely on an iPad, so I think it's entirely possible to get rid of the desktop/laptop provided there's a "cloud storage" option that allows backing up the entire device's data, not just 1 or 5GB worth.

Not suspect. Just IFA. The world's biggest fair for consumer electronics.

They present new HW
regularly there.

IFA isn't going to cause a 4% drop. When Samsung announced the Galaxy S 5 Apple stock barely moved. Had Pacific Crest not released a note this morning saying sell I doubt the stock would be down that much. But I do find there timing suspect.

OT: Apple stock down almost 4% this morning because an analyst came out and said sell the stock and if next week isn't a blowout they will be downgrading the stock. I find the timing of all this stuff very curious. Especially this sell note coming the same day Samsung releases new phones. All over Twitter I'm seeing people attribute the drop to Samsung's announcement.

If I were even more suspicious of Samsung than I already am, I might wonder out loud if Samsung was also somehow connected to the very unusual timing behind the celebrity photo blowup... With their deep and rich history of theft and bribery I might not be surprised by anything they are willing to do.